Gardener

Overview - Estate

Dodington Park Estate is located on the edge of the Cotswolds in South Gloucestershire.  At the centre of the estate is Dodington House, an 18th Century Georgian mansion which is currently being used as a private home.

When you come to work at Dodington Park, you’ll be joining a team of dedicated staff who work towards the renovation and maintenance of the house and surrounding estate, and where we always strive to achieve the highest possible standards of work and craftsmanship.

Overview – Gardens Team

The Gardens Team at Dodington Park Estate are currently looking for an experienced gardener to join the established team of 9 people. You will work with the rest of the team to achieve the highest standards of horticulture and take pride in ensuring that the gardens are beautifully presented and maintained. Dodington Park is developing new and exciting garden projects, so this is a great opportunity for someone who is willing to work hard and develop their career.

Main Duties/Responsibilities

• Responsible for garden maintenance as directed by the Head Gardener.
• Key areas within the gardens include: Temporary floral displays including Urns, Planters and Pots. Rose, shrub and herbaceous plantings including naturalist schemes. Kitchen and cut flower gardens. Nursery with propagation and growing on areas
• Typical duties include:

1. Maintaining plants in Greenhouses.
2. Propagation and growing-on greenhouse and container plants.
3. Design, planting and maintenance of seasonal flower displays.
4. Weeding.
5. Watering plants.
6. Plant feeding.
7. Pruning roses, fruit and climbers.
8. Training and staking of plants.
9. Planting.
10. Identification and Control of pests and diseases.
11. Picking and harvesting produce.
12. Clearance of Leaves and general garden keeping.
13. Lawn mowing.
14. Hedge maintenance and topiary.
15. Any other general garden maintenance.

• Helping others with their areas where needed.
• Upholding the Values of the Estate – ensuring that you understand, embrace and keep focused on the principles and priorities of the Estate, at all times.
• Developing and maintaining positive working relationships across the estate.
• Commitment to developing yourself within your role – undergoing training where necessary.
• Ensuring you comply with all relevant Estate Health and Safety and Environment (HSE) practices and procedures, as outlined in the Health and Safety Policy.
• Ensuring you and others around team abide by all Estate’s policies and procedures – reporting incidents when necessary.
• Proactively promoting and maintaining high standards across the estate – taking initiative to resolve and/or draw attention to areas that don’t meet required standards or any issues that arise.
• Any other ad hoc duties.

Person specification / Core Competencies:

• Skilled horticulturalist with wide range of experience in high-quality settings.
• Relevant qualifications in horticulture (RHS level 2 and/or Diploma or equivalent).
• Good plant knowledge.
• Keen eye for detail.
• Appreciation and understanding of colour and form in the garden.
• Experience in temporary floral displays, floristry and container growing is desirable.
• Plant nursery experience useful.
• Spraying certificate PA1 & PA6 is desirable (training will be provided where necessary). Knowledge of biological control and sprays is useful.
• Able to work in a tidy, safe manner and maintain tools and equipment.
• Confident communication skills, with the ability to interact with individuals from a range of backgrounds.
• Proactive and flexible approach to work.
• Many tasks are physically demanding and carried out in all weathers.
• Willing to take responsibility and ownership for tasks and garden areas.
• Sense of discretion, appreciating the confidentiality of the work.
• Ability to work autonomously, whilst possessing strong teamwork skills.
• Full clean driving license.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• Computer literate.

Application Details

If you would like to apply, please email your CV. In order to increase your chances of being short listed please ensure you submit a covering letter in addition to your CV clearly addressing how you meet the criteria as outlined above, plus details of your current and required package.